Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-08-06
nALY HERALDl.
yrTTERS FROM Thh I'D

t.uor of comm munnnessaril lxiways
an this column the HERALD. .,t hs,ne, a.
- the editor ~ %a heard In Il ~u' %
who des.,y his screed ws;n w;c
Necessarily for RuIpiS ! System.
sOs ssOSssrsnsse Ss Of good ial'n.l l1nce visiting
.s.us the AvsSye all is busy
EpuoR Corporations are
vour beautifuller day, railroads
activity, wb6untry hither and
being orgaers' webs, water and
spannipes-every enterprise be-
thithgto the utmost, each view
lanlo the other-I have been
iAt surprised to note the poor
Of gas in use here, the exceed
Ggh price and the patience of the
5ple in their efforts to light their
Jeautiful homes, elegantly appointed,
with the exception of poor light; in
nearly every instance using coal-oil
lamps. After making some inquiry
into. the present state of that ever
yexed question of gas lighting for the
homes of fast growing city like Los
angeles, we find that by the old
method of making gas from coal there
is some reason for the present high
prices, So per thousand for gas. The
plant for making coal-gas is very
cumbersome and expensive-coal is
high, the transportation being so
great. When gas is sent great dis
tances through mains, they must be
very large and the expense is
simply immense to lay these mains.
No one could afford to lay
these mains over long distances to
supply new neighborhoods with gas,
though the new districts are growing
quite dense, as East Los Angeles,
Boyle Heights and southwest Los An
goles. Nor could the people afford
to pay the enormous tax for gas that
the company would he compelled to
charge to get even on expenses. Now,
what is the sensible thing to do in
this emergency, let the people go
without gas for the next ten years,
until all these intermediate sections
are densely populated SO that the
present gas company may still keep
its stringent hold on the pockets of the
people, or do what the Council evident
iy had in mind when it granted a fran
chise to Mrs. Sawtelle and her as
sociates to lay pipes and light the city
with high Illuminating gas, giving a
soft, clear and steady light for the
small figure of $3.50 per thousand for
illuminating purposes and $1.25 for
fuel and power. At this low price
every body will use the gas, whereas
now there is not one family in ten
whose homes are lighted with gas.
They cannot afford the high prices.
We understand the Avery gas plant is
one that may be set up with but small
expense, 80 as to light the now dense
ly populated portions of the city
without laying long lines of mains
over sections that are not
yet built up, 30 that every house may
BE lighted, every street and alleyway
and the expense is not SO great as
lighting with coal oil, or even natural
gas, as the cost of setting up an Avery
gas plant is nothing compared with
the expense of boring for natural gas,
besides the natural gas wells being
not always easy to manage. The
Avery gas is made from crude petro-
leum. Three gallons of the raw ma
terial right from the wells will supply
1000 feet of the best and safest gas
that was ever made for home con-
sumption.
The very fact that over 500 citizens
signed a petition for this gas to be put
upon the market in this city proves
that they want it.
There is company getting ready to
supply Boyle Heights with this gas.
The light will be 80 cheap that garden
parties and evening lawn parties will
be all the rage. Eastern visitors will
be delighted when they see more
than Aladdin's lamps lighting every
lawn on the Heights. If any one
thinks it will not be the mob Hip
of Los Angeles, and don't get ready
for the rise in real estate, why, they
will soon see their mistake.
L. A. REAL ESTATE MAN.